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Patented February 16, 1904.

HERBERT E. TITAMORE, OF AGENDA, CALIFORNIA.

GRAIN-LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,367, dated February 16, 1904.

Application filed iune ll, 1903. Serial No. 161,056. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern: 3

Be it known that I, HERBERT E. TITAMORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Agenda, county of Monterey, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Grain- Lifters; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a grain-lifting attachment for headers and like harvesters.

It consists in a novel construction of lifters which are fixed to the finger-bar at intervals between the ends, these lifters being combined with the sickleguards at points where the two coincide in such a manner that the guards serve as braces to prevent side motion of the lifters, and the lifters themselves are so constructed as to have two separated points of attachment, whereby they are braced against vertical movement.

M y invention also comprises details of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which i Figure 1 is a side elevation and partial section of a grai -lifter and finger-bar partly of wood. Fig. 2 is a similar view with angleiron finger-bar. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing relative position of lifters and sickle-- guards.

For the purpose of lifting grain which has been lodged and beaten down and raising it into a position .so that it may be out by the sickle of the harvester various devices have been employed. g

It is the object of my invention to provide lifters for this purpose extending in front of the sickle-guards and placed at intervals of about every third or fourth guard between the ends of the fingerbar, and where these lifters coincide with the position of the guards the latter are so connected with the lifters as to form a brace therewith.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, Arepresents the upper bar of the lifter,which is in the form of a reverse curve concaved from the tip backward for a portion of its length, thence made convex and the rear end projecting substantially above the sickle or finger-bar. The sickle or finger-bar may be made in any of the usual well-known forms, either having a wooden backing, as shown at 2, and an angle-iron or steel front piece, as shown at 3, or it may be made of angle-iron or steel alone, as shown at 3 In either case the lower part A of the lifter curves downwardly from the point or tip 4c, where it unites with the upper part A, forming a convex downward curve. Thence it is slightly concaved, as at A about the center and thence is carried backward in a substantially convex form, as shown at A The rear end of this lower part is secured to the finger-bar in any suitable way, depending upon the character of the bar.

As shown in 2 forms the backing ofthe angle iron or steel bar 3 bolts 5 may be passed through the wooden bar from top to bottom, and the rear portion of the part A may be perforated, so that the bolt may also pass through it, and the nut on the lower end of the bolt may serve to secure these two parts firmly together. If the vertical portion of the angle iron or steel bar projects downwardly a sufiicient distance, the rear end of the part A may be upturned or channeled, as shown at 6, and clasp the lower edge of the angle-bar. The fastening of this part will in all cases depend upon the character of the bar, and as these bars differ considerably in difierent machines it will be the province of those skilled in the art to make any form of attachment at this point which may be found desirable.

From the point where the upward curve A of the lower part takes place and from the upper side extends the intermediate portion 7 which projects backwardly between the upper and lower parts, and about midway of its length it makes an abrupt ofiset substantially downward and substantially vertical, as shown at 8. Thence this portion is slightly curved upwardly and extends rearwardly, as at 9, and the rear end is flattened, so as to extend beneath the horizontal portion of the angle iron or steel finger-bar 3 or 3*, and it is secured thereto by a bolt 10, which passes through the horizontal portion of the angleiron finger-bar and this portion of the lifter. There are thus two points of attachmentone for the bottom and one for the intermediate Fig. 1, where the wooden bar part of the lifterand these serve to brace the lifters sufliciently to prevent their being bent downwardly by the strain of lifting the grain or by reason of the points accidentally sticking into the ground when the front of the header is depressed to cut low grain.

The sickle-guards 11 are of any usual or ordinary construction. As shown in the drawings, they are of a form well known on the market, where they are made in sections of two or more and united at the rear and having bolt-holes by which they are secured to the angle iron or other finger bar. These guards are usually from two and one-half to three inches apart, extending from one end of the finger-bar to the other and projecting forwardly therefrom,

and they are slotted or channeled upon the top,

as shown at 12, so that the sickle is guided in these slots or channels and may be reciprocated through the guards by any suitable mechanism in use for this purpose. The lifting-fingers A are located approximately about one foot apart and will thus coincide with about every fourth guard 11. The vertical ofiset 8 of the central part of each lifter has a hole formed in the back portion, and the position of this part 8 is such that when the rear end of the sickle-guard is bolted in position the front end or point will enter this hole, as plainly shown at 13. By this construction if the guards are made in united sections of two or more, as here shown, and these are bolted to the finger-bar at the rear the point of one of the guards will enter the hole 13 of the coincident lifter, which extends to a conside'rable distance in front of the guards, and will thus in connection with its rear attachments lock it so rigidly that there is little chance for side motion or twisting which might otherwise occur by reason of the pressure brought upon the lifter in lifting heavilylodged grain, while the two points of attachment to the sickle-bar, as previously described, will sufficiently brace thelifters against vertical motion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with the sickle or fingerbar of a harvester and the sickle-guards projecting therefrom, of lifting-fingers each consisting of an upper and lower part united at the front and curved and diverging rearwardly therefrom, and having a central portion connecting with the lower part and extending rearwardly intermediate of the two, said central portion extending beneath the sickle-guard and having a vertical offset intermediate of its ends provided with an opening in the rear, said sickle-guard having a point to enter said opening, a bolt passing through the finger-bar, the guard and the underlying part of the central portion of the lifter whereby these parts are secured together, and an independent attachment for securing the lower part 'of the lifter to the finger-bar in a plane below the attachment of the guard.

2. The combination with the sickle or fingerbar of a harvester, and the sickle-guards projecting therefrom, of liftingfingers each consisting of an upper and lower part united at the front and diverging rearwardly, means for attaching the lower part of the lifter to tho finger-bar, said lifter having an intermediate part connecting with said lower part substantially midway between the front and rear and said intermediate part extending below the sickle-guard and having an offset with an opening in the rear wall to receive the point of a coincident guard, said guard, sicklebar and rear end of said central portion of the lifter being perforated coincidently, and a single bolt passing through said perforation and securing the parts.

Irci1 witness whereof I have hereunto set my han HERBERT E. TITAMORE. Witnesses:

W. M. PENOE, H. R. SNYDER. 

